20 year old Tatiana Calderón from Columbia has set herself the goal of competing in Formula One having entered into professional karting at eight. Now tyre supplier Hankook is supporting her development as part of its role as tyre supplier to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, in which she is now competing.
Robert Wickens scored the maiden victory of his DTM career in difficult wet and drying conditions at the Nürburgring. The Mercedes-Benz driver coped best with the changeable conditions, moving from seventh on the grid to the front of the field. The race was stopped after 47 of the scheduled 49 laps, because the maximum duration of 75 minutes had been reached. Tyre supplier Hankook provided the wet, base-line slick and faster option tyres to help the teams adapt to different conditions and to use flexible race tactics.
The introduction of an option tyre this year in DTM was something of an unknown quantity, as teams had no previous data or experience with which to predict its performance. With one set available only for the race, it was always going to be interesting to see how they would be used, and the tyre supplier to the German touring car series (competing in international locations) believes that its influence has had a positive effect on the action, heading into the second half of the season at the Moscow Raceway this weekend. Hankook says the softer compound Ventus Race Plus has allowed drivers to set faster lap times in the first 30-60km of use, before the tyre’s performance drops off to levels below those offered by the regular Ventus Race tyre. It is constructed to behave in this way purposely to allow for more tactical racing, and with five races won by five different drivers (albeit with one subsequently disqualified), the top five in the drivers’ standings within 24 points and all manufacturers with at least one race victory, Hankook argues that the tyre has helped make the series more competitive.
Hankook’s second quarter results show that the manufacturer is well-placed to take advantage of the anticipated gradual recovery of replacement markets in the next year and a half. Indeed, the 1.4 per cent increase in revenue growth indicates that the Korean manufacturer is already experiencing some upward momentum, this figure having declined in the previous two quarters. Deutsche Bank analyst Sanjeev Rana commented that the company’s ongoing product mix improvement and falling raw materials costs should combine with the American and European recovery to keep Hankook’s margins “resilient”, while the bank also expects its operating profit to “grow 18 per cent” year-on-year in in the second half of 2013.
Hankook Tyre Australia has established a national service network for its fleet and other commercial customers. Selected truck and bus tyre dealers have been grouped together to make the Hankook Highway Helpline (HHH), a nationwide emergency network offering help around the clock, every day of the year. Upon receiving a tyre distress call, HHH will dispatch the nearest authorised network dealer to provide roadside tyre assistance. The service centre also has provision to contact the second- and third-closest Hankook back-up dealers if required.
Hankook’s results for the second quarter (April-June) of 2013 continue to show steady growth with operating profit up 11.3 per cent and sales up 1.4 per cent year on year. The company achieved a global sales revenue of KRW 1.87 trillion (1.276 billion euro) in the quarter, with operating profit marked at KRW 271.3 billion (185.2 million euro). The company stated that increased sales in the ultra-high performance tyre sector and premium brand equity helped it secure solid sales increases in its major markets.
South Wales company Hicks Logistics settled on Hankook tyres as its preferred choice over ten years ago, using the Korean manufacturer’s AH22+ and DH05 tyres on its Scania, Volvo and Mercedes tractor units and the TH22 wide singles, and TH10 for the low loaders, on its trailers. Hankook's new Alphatread retread tyres are set to be tested on the fleet and Hankook expects to be able to deliver increased value for money as a result. Hankook’s service has also been key to the continued association with Hicks; the company has its own dedicated tyre fitter at the head office, and is able to manage its own tyres in the local area. However, when working throughout the UK Hankook Truck Masters are relied on to service the fleet.
Aebi Schmidt has selected Hankook’s Vantra LT tyre for its Swingo 200 street cleaning machines. At over four tonnes, the Swingo 200 is tough machine that can expect a long and arduous working life. This specialist machine also boasts a large hopper capacity, resulting in a 50 per cent bigger payload than other street sweepers.
Spectators watching this Sunday’s DTM round at the Norisring circuit in southern Germany will no longer have to puzzle over which tyres each driver has selected. Championship tyre supplier Hankook has decided to visually differentiate the option tyres by printing its brand name in larger, yellow text on the sidewall. Viewers at home will also be helped in the tyre department through additional on-screen information; graphics shown on televised coverage will now also indicate which tyres a vehicle is using. This information is transmitted via the rim-mounted sensors each DTM car has used since the start of 2012 to convey information on tyre pressure.
In June Hankook Tyre UK marked the ongoing service of its staff and presented members of the team with awards for outstanding service. The lunch recognised the 10 year anniversary for two members of its senior staff who both started work at the company in 2002.
UK sales director, Barrie Horrocks, was awarded for his outstanding service after celebrating 10 years with the company last year. Horrocks joined the company as commercial sales manager, a role he was in for 9 years before being promoted to sales director in 2011.
Korean tyre manufacturers have outperformed the Korean Kospi index year-to-date. According to an investor’s note published by financial analyst at Deutsche Bank, the strong showing has come thanks to “a sharp decline in raw material costs, strong earnings delivery and expectations of demand recovery in in the second half of 2013”, with the latter point welcome news for everyone.
Yokohama Tire Corporation has hired Andrew Zeisser as its new director of OE sales. In this role, Zeisser will be responsible for the company’s original equipment business in North America and will lead Yokohama Tire Corporation’s OE sales, engineering and quality functions. He will be based at the company’s Detroit, Michigan office.
Hankook’s most recent addition to its high performance tyre range focuses on the increasingly important European segment of SUV tyres designed for high performance road use. In the March issue of Tyres & Accessories, we discussed the migration of SUV tyres to speed ratings above T; V alone has nearly 10 times the market share (20.4 per cent) it had 10 years ago, and though H (34.5) is currently the predominant designation for the SUV market, it is expected that SUV tyres will continue to follow the trends set by passenger cars. Indeed, 2012 saw a small year-on-year reduction in H’s market share. High performance tyres are now the most important story for SUVs as well as passenger cars.
In the weekend’s DTM action, drivers were able to demonstrate the strategies made possible by exclusive tyre partner Hankook’s new option tyre in front of 65,000 fans at the Lausitzring. Four of the five fastest drivers started the race with the Ventus Race Plus that allows for faster times for a few laps before the intended drop-off sets in. Other drivers started with the base-line slick tyre and later changed to the option to try to make up lost ground in the first stint. Mercedes-Benz driver Gary Paffett scored his first race win of this DTM season and the first success of the Stuttgart car manufacturer.
Although no comment has come from Clermont-Ferrand, within the last week Michelin has again been named as a future Pirelli replacement as Formula One tyre supplier. But Bernie Ecclestone has been quick to put the lid on such speculation; in his F1 blog, motor racing journalist Adam Cooper writes that when questioned on the subject, Ecclestone responded: “No idea. I haven’t got a clue. I haven’t spoken to anyone. We have a long-term contract with Pirelli, as the FIA do. And I think most of the teams have – I think they’ve done a deal with all the teams they want to do a deal with.”
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